Godrej Fund Management blocks two properties, Real Estate News, ET Real Estate

Godrej Fund Managementreal estate private equity firm Godrej Groupholds two of its major investment properties including commercial in properties Mumbaibusiness district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and on the block in Thane, said persons with direct knowledge of the development.

These prime properties include a total of 200,000 sq ft of office space spread over three floors in the commercial project. Godrej BKC and an information technology park project G: Corp Tech Park in Thane’s Ghodbunder Road area.

The total realization from both the properties is estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crore based on the current office property rates in these locations.

“Both the properties are among the early investments of Godrej Fund Management and have done well in terms of returns through lease rentals, being among the best properties in their respective locations. It is now looking to exit these assets in line with its strategy for initial funding,” said one of the people cited above.

The fund has already invited bids for these properties and is expected to complete the process soon.

Godrej BKC, spread over a total of 1.3 million sq ft, was developed by Godrej Properties in association with Jet Airways. The aviation company had acquired 2.5 acres of land from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in a public auction in 2006 for about Rs 400 crore.

The developer later sold part of the commercial tower to pharmaceutical major Abbott. The office building is currently owned by Abbott, Brookfield Group, Jet Airways, ICICI Pru Life and DeeDecor Group.

The three floors owned by Godrej Fund Management are currently leased out to entities including global financial major Carlyle Group, oil refining company Nayara Energy and alternative investment firm Investcorp at an average lease rental of over Rs 330 per sq ft.
Project G:Corp Tech Park was built by realty developer G Corp in 2010 and was later acquired by New Vernon Capital. Godrej Fund Management had acquired it from New Vernon in 2018 for about Rs 400 crore.

The total built-up area of ​​the project is approximately 750,000 sq ft with a floor plate of 70,000 sq ft. It has total leasable space of over 600,000 square feet and is currently fully leased and occupied. It counts Aditya Birla Group and Converges among its largest tenants with average rents of around Rs 65 per sq ft.

It was one of the initial assets when Godrej Fund Management started investing in office projects around 4.5 years ago.

ET’s email query to Godrej Fund Management remained unanswered till the time of going to press.

Across five investment platforms, the fund has made over 15 investments across its four major property markets in India and has over 15 million sq ft of space under management.

The fund counts among its partners Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management as well as global institutional investors such as Allianz Real Estate. APG has partnered with GFM in four funds across the residential and office sectors.

Godrej Fund Management used to be a part of Godrej Properties but later it was shifted directly under the Godrej Group.